As I'm a newcomer to the blogosphere, there are many, many memes (say that five times fast) I've missed. Saw this one on Jurgen Nation, a lovely site I happened upon today. Amazing photographer too, that gal. If you haven't been, do check it out. After you read the incredibly interesting list of Q & A's below of course.

1. How many keys are on your keychain? Three. My house, P’s house, and P’s parents’ house—Mamma made sure I have this.

2. What curse word do you use the most? Um, honestly, now it’s vaffanculo. I hardly curse at all in English anymore. Not nearly as much fun.

3. Do you own an iPod? Nope. Do you pity me? I’ll take donations. But as long as you’re at it, how about that fancy new iPhone?

4. What time is your alarm clock set for? 6:15. Post-holidays periods are rough adjusting, I tell you.

5. How many suitcases do you own? Too many and they’re all stored under my bed. They do come in handy, though, to store out of season clothes seeing as Italians don’t believe in closets.

6. Do you wear flip–flops even when it’s cold outside? Outside definitely not, but I do use them around the shower/tub area. Kinda like college with all these tile floors (although I have much nicer tiles).

7. Where do you buy your groceries from? From our local grocer Vincenzo and also at the market.

8. Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture? Take. I’m a taker.

9. What was the last movie you watched? The Manchurian Candidate. Two thumbs up and looking forward to getting the book finally, but only because I've wanted to read it for a long time. Normally I can't read a book after I've seen a movie based on it, but for this I'd make an exception.

10. Do any of your friends have children? Many of them, yes, and many have more than one.

11. If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you would buy? Plane tickets for either P and me to go to the US or for my family to come here.

12. Has anyone ever called you lazy? Not to my face.

13. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep faster? No, falling asleep has never been a problem. It's the getting up part that frustrates.

15. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk? For the most part, regular, unless I’m eating a specialty cheeseburger from, say, The Coney, or a Screamer from Tony’s. That sounds way racier than it is, but it *is* quite spicy.

16. Has anyone told you a secret this week? I’ll never tell.

17. When was the last time someone hit on you? Hmm…probably an unsolicited email a couple months ago, which resulted in my matchmaking the culprit, er, would-be suitor, with my best friend (planning second in-person meeting shortly).

18. What did you have for dinner? Linguine with (white) clam sauce.

19. Do you wear hoodies often? Oh goodness, I just put one on before I started this meme! But it’s the only one I have, I swear. I do wear it quite a bit around the house though. It's warm and cozy.

20. Can you whistle? Sure can, and so much more than just Dixie.

21. Have you ever participated in a protest? Not that I recall.

22. Who was the last person to call you? Mom.

23. What is your favorite ride at an amusement park? None. I used to work rides at an amusement park and that really ruined it for me. Especially the cleaning up the vomit part.

24. Do you think people talk about you behind your back? In a small southern Italian village? Goodness no!

25. What area code are you in right now? We don’t really do that here. But I guess you could say 0967.

26. Did you watch cartoons as a child? Yes, and I distinctly remembering looking *very* much forward to the Muppet Babies and going down in Fraggle Rock.

27. How big is your local mall? It's sizeable, but nothing extraordinary.

28. How many siblings do you have? Just one brother.

29. Are you shy around the opposite sex? Not that I’ve noticed.

30. What is your biggest regret? Can’t think of anything off the top of my head, so it must not be very big, whatever it is.

31. When was the last time you laughed so hard your sides hurt? The other day when P called me “baby” in English when he was trying to get my attention. For anyone who doesn’t know, P speaks no English. This is what made it funny. To me anyway.

33. Do you own any band t–shirts? OK, I was given one of Piero Pelù, an Italian rock star who has a house and many friends in my village, but I don’t own any of my own volition. I don't think I ever have.

34. When was your last plane ride? June 2004, the last time I arrived here.

35. How many chairs are at your dining room table? 4, and because of a recent cleaning spree, all four are again useable.

36. Do you read for fun? Yes, and sometimes for torture, depending on the material.

37. Can you speak any languages other than English? I can! Finally! Well, mostly anyway. Hey, I get my point across. Oh, it’s Italian in case you haven’t figured it out. Now I’d like to learn French.

38. Do you do your own dishes? Unfortunately yes.

39. What color is your bedroom painted? Off white for now, but I'd like a subtle yellow.

40. Have you ever cried in public? Hmm. If I have, I’m sure I was wearing sunglasses.

41. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop? Left the desktop in America with Mom; now I just use a laptop.

42. Which do you make, wishes or plans? Many of both despite the words of a wise man known only as Joe O: Wish in one hand and sh*t in the other; see which gets full first.

43. Are you always trying to learn new things? You could say that. I’m a curious one.

44. Do you shower on a daily basis? One of the best things about living in Europe is that this is *so* not expected. In fact, it’s quite wasteful. Sponging works just fine. And it really helps once you figure out what a bidet is for.

45. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos? Not a one, no.

46. Do you believe that the guy should pay on the first date? I’ll say it: yes, yes I do. And he should open doors, hold them, and let the girl enter a room first as well. Must be that European influence again.

47. Can you skip rocks? It’s happened, but I can’t say a solid “yes” as I’m no pro.

48. Have you ever been to Jamaica? No. No plans either.

49. What to snack on at the movie theaters? From what I remember of movie theaters in the States, my favorites are popcorn, Raisinets, Twizzlers, and a Diet Coke—yes, the “diet” makes it all OK.

50. Who was your favorite teacher? Many for many different reasons, but starting from the earliest influence with names left out to protect the innocent—kindergarten, fourth grade, 8th grade place geography, writing teacher throughout high school, Trigonometry/Algebra II, 11th grade history, Biology III, 12th grade Double English. Then in college, my Virginia Woolf seminar prof, and in law school, my Crim Law II prof.

51. Have you ever dated someone out of your race? No, but I hardly dated period, so there you go. Ooh, but did/do I have boy (space) friends (of various races).

52. What is the weather like? Sunny and cool.

53. Would you ever date someone covered in tattoos? If P and I split up, why not? I'm very impressed by high levels of pain tolerance. That's right after sense of humor. See Question 57.

54. Do you have an online journal? Only if this blog counts. Otherwise, I handwrite a journal.

55. What was your favorite class in high school? Probably Double English. Or Bio III--mostly for the fruitflies.

56. Do you enjoy traveling via airplanes? Enjoy? No I wouldn’t use that word, but I don’t hate it either.

57. What personality trait is a must–have in your preferred gender? My preferred gender? Oh, like in a mate? Sense of humor.

58. Have you ever been attracted to someone physically unattractive? Hard to say who is objectively physically unattractive. What about Conan O’Brien? Let's just say I don't always go for the most traditionally handsome guy if that's what you're getting at.

59. When was the last time you slept on the floor? Wow, I’m guessing it’s been years, but I used to do it all the time in my living room. Here, without carpet, it's not very comfy. Or warm.

60. What is your favorite alcoholic drink? Jack and coke.

61. Does your closest Starbucks have a drive–thru? Hah! We ain’t got those.

62. Do you like your living arrangement? Very much so, but a cleaning lady would be nice.

63. What is your mother’s hometown? Reading, PA. Go Scarlet Knights!

64. How many hours of sleep do you need to function? I’m pretty sure it’s between 7 and 8. I used to function on 6, but, yeah, I’m old now.

65. Do you eat breakfast daily? More often than not.

66. What was the last thing to scare you? My blurry vision this past week.

67. Are your days full and fast–paced? Too funny. I live in southern Italy people.

68. Did you ever get in trouble for talking in class? Uh yeah, and the most recent time was in freaking law school. And I wasn’t even talking. And may that Civil Procedure professor burn in hell (which he’ll probably do even without my recommendation considering that he’s the devil incarnate). No, I don't hold grudges. Why do you ask?

69. What is your favorite fruit? Oh so many. I don’t think there’s a fruit I don’t like. But, when pressed, I’ll take a banana over all others.

70. Do you pay attention to calories on the back of packages? Not anymore. They’re not so obvious here.

71. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 31. Thanks for bringing that up.

72. Are you picky about spelling and grammar? Guilty, but I’m freer with grammar these days. See my response to Question 61 and my many sentences that end with prepositions. I think that one's such a pompous rule.

73. Do you believe in life on other planets? I barely belief in life on this one. But, assuming we have life here, yes, I say there’s life elsewhere too.

74. Have you ever been to Six Flags? Never. See Question 23.

75. Who was the last person to piss you off? Oh probably the hiring commission that told me they couldn’t consider my application packet because it arrived a day late after I dragged myself out of bed at 6 a.m. even though I had the flu, made a 45-minute trip, and then waited another hour and a half just to see them.

76. Do you believe that God has a gender? Gender is a social construction, so no. Or else She's just messing with us all.

77. What was the last thing you ate? A homemade chocolate muffin.

78. Do you get along better with the same or opposite sex? Depends on the people.

79. What did you dress up as for your first Halloween? The first one I remember is Casper the Friendly Ghost—probably because I tripped and got a bloody nose in my plastic, snap-string mask. But I’ve seen a picture of myself as Strawberry Shortcake, and I think I was younger in that one, so I’m going with her.

80. How did your parents pick your name? My mom chose it; Dad got to pick my brother’s (he's named after Dad), so that was the deal. She was actually going to call me Melissa, but we had a dog named Missy at the time. My mother was always so smart and forward-thinking.

81. Do you like mustard? Goodness yes. French’s is best for ham and cheese sandwiches; spicy mustard (the spicier the better) with cheeses and Philly pretzels. I don’t, however, like ketchup and mustard mixed except on a McDonald’s cheeseburger, and only then just because I’m too lazy and too distrusting to request no mustard. I'm always afraid they'll just give me the thing plain then. Oh, and this crap "senape" they have in Italy is just that--crap. You could say I have strong opinions on mustard.

82. What do you tell yourself when times get hard? Suck it up.

83. Would you ever sky dive? If pushed.

84. Do you sleep on your side, tummy, or back? Yes.

85. What character from a movie most reminds you of yourself? Meg Ryan’s character in “You’ve Got Mail” but that may be just because I want her apartment and children’s bookstore. And her hair, although I'd probably never cut mine that short.

86. Have you ever bid for something on ebay? Yes, and from two continents.

i like your answers, v similar to what mine would be if i had the time to fill out the list. BTW i always thought it was Va fanculo (the va being 3rd person 'to go') whcih always struck me as funny that the italians use the formal to swear in... now of course i can see i was completely wrong.vanessa